The art of inkjet technology is relatively well developed. Commercial products such as computer printers, graphics plotters, and facsimile machines have been implemented with inkjet technology for producing printed media. Generally, an inkjet image is formed pursuant to precise placement on a print medium of ink drops emitted by an ink drop generating device known as an inkjet printhead assembly. An inkjet printhead assembly includes at least one printhead. Typically, an inkjet printhead assembly is supported on a movable carriage that traverses over the surface of the print medium and is controlled to eject drops of ink at appropriate times pursuant to command of a microcomputer or other controller, wherein the timing of the application of the ink drops is intended to correspond to a pattern of pixels of the image being printed.
Inkjet printers have at least one ink supply. An ink supply includes an ink container having an ink reservoir. The ink supply can be housed together with the inkjet printhead assembly in an inkjet cartridge or pen, or can be housed separately. When the ink supply is housed separately from the inkjet printhead assembly, users can replace the ink supply without replacing the inkjet printhead assembly. The inkjet printhead assembly is then replaced at or near the end of the printhead life, and not when the ink supply is replaced.
Current printer systems typically include one or more replaceable printer components, including inkjet cartridges, inkjet printhead assemblies, and ink supplies. Some existing systems provide these replaceable printer components with on-board memory to communicate information to a printer about the replaceable component, such as ink fill level, marketing information, etc. The ink level information can be transmitted to the printer to indicate the amount of ink remaining. A user can observe the ink level information and anticipate the need for replacing a depleted ink container.
Printer cartridge replacement has evolved into a major business for manufacturers of printers, and a significant operating expense for companies using printers. Accordingly, this business relationship will continue to evolve and draw increasing attention from both consumers and printer manufacturers.